1/48 Hurricane IIc, night intruder, Karl Kuttlewascher
This is my interpretation of Karl Kuttlewascher's Hurricane IIc 'Night Reaper'. Again, it's a night intruder scheme that has been hotly debated for many years, with no definitive answer, most likely a transitional scheme at the time of the Dieppe raid.
Kuttelwascher's Hawker Hurricane IIc was serial number BE581 and carried the code letters "JX-E". It also carried a personal emblem of a yellow scythe with a red banner emblazoned "Night Reaper". Kuttelwascher had the greatest number of successful strikes of any night intruder.
On the night of 1/2 April 1942, Kuttelwascher scored his first victories as a night intruder, shooting down one Junkers Ju 88 fighter-bomber and damaging a second, both near Melun. On the night of 16/17 April, he shot down a Dornier Do 217 bomber near Saint-André-de-l'Eure. His next victories were a Do 217 and a Ju 88, both near Rouen-Boos. On the night of 30 April/1 May, he shot down a Do 217 near Rennes and a Heinkel He 111 bomber off the coast near Dinard. On the night of 4/5 May near St-André, Kuttelwascher shot down three He 111s within four minutes.
A Dornier Do 217 bomber. Between April and July 1942, Kuttelwascher shot down seven Do 217s and damaged another three.
On the night of 2/3 June, Kuttelwascher shot down a Do 217 off Dunkirk. The next night near St-André, he shot down two He 111s and a Do 217 and damaged a second Do 217. On the night of 21/22 June, again near St-André, he shot down an Ju 88 and damaged a second. On the night of 28/29 June 1942 Kuttelwascher shot down a Do 217E-4 of VII/Kampfgeschwader 2 at Trévières in Normandy, killing all the crew.[5] On the night of 1/2 July near Dinard he shot down two Do 217s and damaged a third.
No. 1 Squadron destroyed 21 enemy aircraft in three months. Of these, Kuttelwascher had shot down 15 and damaged another five. For this he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and news media nicknamed him the Czech Night Hawk.
Anyhow, it's Hasegawa Hurricane Mk IIc, with Ultracast's long range tanks, exhaust and seat. Decals are (if I remember correctly) Aeromaster, painted withTamiya acrylics, and weathered with pastels and oils.
Thanks for looking,
Colin
9 additional images. Click to enlarge.
-
- 1. Battle of Britain memorial flight's Hurricane IIb in Kuttlewascher's markings
Bob Bailey said on July 7, 2022
Colin...Super build and finish on a fine kit. Particularly impressed by camo and subtle weathering...well done.
Spiros Pendedekas said on July 7, 2022
All excellent, Colin!
Congratulations!
John vd Biggelaar said on July 7, 2022
Amazing Hurricane, Colin @tail-dragon
Beautiful scheme and nicely applied.
Tom Cleaver said on July 7, 2022
Very nice work and a superb result.
Tom
Andrew H said on July 7, 2022
Very nice results! The painting is very attractive, and the photos are very nicely presented.
Stephen W Towle said on July 7, 2022
I think some of the hardest cameos are painted on the Spitfire and the Hurricane. Getting the patterns down so that it looks natural and then having the Greens and Gray's with the same values and intensities that are balanced is not easy. Add a black underside which can look very boring, monotone and flat. Enough of the artsy fartsy, it all works Colin. A five Star build.
Two thumbs up.
Bill Koppos said on July 7, 2022
Very sharp. True art work.
Bob Dudolevitch said on July 7, 2022
What a superb model and color scheme! Amazing work and good job highlighting an interesting name for an RAF ace: Karel Kuttlewascher.
Thanks for posting.
Pedro L. Rocha said on July 7, 2022
Beautiful work, stunning paint effects
Christopher Church said on July 8, 2022
Excellent build, very well done.
Marcello Rosa said on July 8, 2022
Congratulations. Very realistic.
John Healy said on July 8, 2022
Nice work, Colin!
gary sausmikat said on July 8, 2022
Nice job, Colin. Paint job and colors look good.
Lis said on July 8, 2022
very nice painting!
Greg Kittinger said on July 8, 2022
beautiful paint and weathering work - and I like that scheme for something different. I may have to build a 1/72 version of that! Well done.
George R Blair Jr said on July 9, 2022
Well done, Colin (@tail-dragon). Great job on this Hasegawa kit. I just read an article on the use of Hurricanes in the desert, so this build is much appreciated.
David Butler said on July 9, 2022
Great job on this Colin, there has been a lot of quality work posted the last few days and this is among the best of the best in my opinion. Thanks for sharing!